Before he has a chance to get started on those two new Pee Wee Herman movies he’s been promising for years now (like those will ever happen), Paul Reubens will be featured in Todd Solondz’ new movie in a dramatic role.

When I hear the name Todd Solondz, I think of his quirky earlier films Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness. His last two efforts (Storytelling, Palindromes) weren’t nearly as good. But we’re made it a point to try to forget they ever happened. And many people probably forget that Reubens has been on the comeback trail for some time now. And I think he did rather good in Ted Demme’s 2001 drug crime drama-pic Blow. Solondz first announced the film at the Cannes Film Festival, claiming that it is some sort of a companion piece to Happiness and Welcome to the Dollhouse.

“Many of the characters from these movies unexpectedly beckoned to me, and so I have explored new ways of developing and enlarging their stories, with the intent to recast them from a fresh perspective.”